'The Exependables 2' Just Became Rated R Again

If you’ll recall, back in January, Chuck Norris demanded that The Expendables 2 be downgraded from a hard R like its predecessor to a lighter PG-13 because, quote, “so kids can see it.” Because, as you know, if there’s one thing children need to be watching, it’s Chuck Norris and a cache of 1980s action stars pretending to murder a lot of people.

Well, it appears that while Sylvester Stallone and director Simon West agreed to Norris’ demands in order to get him to star in the film, they’re not exactly sticking to their word, as The Expendables 2 was slapped with an R rating today for strong violence, language and brief sexuality. The original film was also rated R, for strong action and bloody violence, and some language.

While Chuck Norris seemed to be pushing for a PG-13 rating for some kind of quasi-moral reasoning, studios often will opt for a PG-13 rating simply because adding teenagers to your audience base means more ticket sales—but seeing as The Expendables franchise is an homage to the pornographically violent action films of the 1980s, anything other than a hard R simply wouldn’t suffice.